Friday, June 8, 2012

A new twist to the false product line: false product labels. We all have lots of bottles, boxes, and jars around the house and our senses have become so jaded by constant commercial advertising that we ignore the jarring visual onslaught of all of those labels. Relief is on the way: simply cover them up with false product labels.

A bunch of unlovely product labels peeled off of their containers

It turns out that most product labels just peel right off. Grab a corner and start ripping them away. Save them on a sheet of paper as shown above so that you can measure them to construct your new labels.

Create new, far more lovely labels (click on image to see larger version)

Create new labels of your own using photographs you've taken or copyright-free images from the Web. The images above are from my own photos. They are, in clockwise order starting from upper left: mold grown for mold jewelry; more mold; found seedpods from far-flung rainforests; and the last three are floating seaweed from the Yucatan Peninsula.

You will note that I have created my own product line - Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust - based on the idea that frankly we are all just kidding ourselves with beauty care products.

The next step is to print and carefully cut out your new labels. Place a label face-down on a sheet of plastic adhesive (buy it by the foot at a hardware store). Trim the adhesive so there is anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 inch of adhesive sticking out all around the edge of your label. Slap it on the bottle or jar and you have a new customized product that may or may not succeed in beautifying you, but will definitely beautify your home.

An even easier method of creating your own labels would be to save and cut up beautiful wrapping paper or pictures from magazines. Forget about words and just go with eye-appealing images. Come to think of it, you don't need to stick to the boring rectangles of the original labels either. Cut one out in the shape of an amoeba or a spiral or whatever you like.

Or print out pictures of your family and pets and turn the containers on
your kitchen and bathroom counters into a family portrait gallery.

Monday, June 4, 2012

When I was about ten I had a compelling urge one afternoon to do some oil painting but couldn't find any brushes. I grabbed a hank of my hair, chopped it off, used a rubber band to secure the hair to the eraser-end of a pencil, and I was in business. Now that I'm older I have a more sophisticated solution to art emergencies: paintbrush earrings.

Earrings made from old fanned blending brushes.

Close-up of paintbrush art emergency earrings

Ingredients for the paintbrush earrings include used paintbrushes, old faux pearl beads, and cannibalized earrings. Yes, the earrings are two different sizes. So what? Don't screw with me, I'm an artist. Note the subtle blue and mauve hues on the tips from prior use.